Genesis Owusu @ DC9 [DC] - 4/8/2022
Genesis Owusu at DC9 (Photo ©2022 Mauricio Castro)
Kofi Owusu-Ansah is in a league all his own. It didn't take his dominant DC9 show for me to make that call, but it helped. His 2021 album Smiling With No Teeth is a blender of musical genres that relentlessly whipsaws through funk, soul, rap, punk, and synth-pop, lyrically exploring racism, depression, and more.
It was already obvious upon walking into the sold-out venue that Owusu was swinging for the rafters in creating a performance to remember: the stage was decorated with chain link fencing surrounding the back walls of the room. Minutes before the show was to commence, the venue’s lights went dark as Death Grips’ “I've Seen Footage” played in anticipation for what was about to go down. Soon, two backup dancers/hype men marched onto the stage, wearing matching outfits and balaclavas as they unfurled a sign reading “BEWARE: BLACK DOGS” (a reference to the song “Black Dogs!”, about the paranoia of being a Black man in Australia). After the unfurling, Owusu made his way onto the stage, bandages wrapped around his face and hands.
His versatility shines on the live stage - he can dole out smooth vocals on the likes of “Waitin’ On Ya,” a song that upon closer inspection is really about the looming specter of depression. on “Bye Bye,” the lights went dark as he caroused around the stage holding a lightbulb that became the sole source of light in the room, asking “How do I breathe with my hands on my own throat? / How do I cry a stream then drown when I know that I see a boat?” Later on, Owusu and his balaclava’d hype men would reappear on stage, this time unmasking themselves and donning dashikis, a sign that they were ready to unload the emotional baggage weighing so heavily on them.
In speaking with NME about his album, Owusu had this to say about what he wants his still-nascent musical legacy to be:
“If I am to be remembered, just be for doing some crazy stuff, some wild iconic boundary breaking art that might inspire some little Black kids somewhere to realize that they're not boxed in or bounded. Bound by any restrictions or perspectives, whether it be their own or someone else's, you can do what you want to. That's what I would like to be remembered for.”
Not many acts are as willing as Owusu to bring chain-link fencing, backup dancers, costume changes, and strobe-filled light shows to an intimate stage the size of DC9. Contemplation, rage, and joy are just a subset of the emotional multitudes that Owusu portrayed during his exemplary set, one that elevated the live performance as much as the album. If this is just a first taste of his musical career that is still to come, then we’re all in for a treat.
Smiling With No Teeth was released in 2021 on House Anxiety / Ourness.
Opening for Genesis Owusu was Richmond-based artist Benét.Their latest release is the single “Will I See U?”, released in collaboration with Atlanta-based indie rock quartet Mamalarky, on Bayonet Records and Fire Talk Records.
Photos by Mauricio Castro
SETLIST
What Do I Fear?
The Other Black Dog
Centrefold
Void
WUTD
Waitin' on Ya
Gold Chains
I Don't See Colour / Whip Cracker
Bye Bye
Don't Need You
Crank That (Soulja Boy cover)
Drown
Wit' da Team
A Song About Fishing
No Looking Back
Good Times
Black Dogs!